Our media spokespeople

Carol started her career setting up print media enterprises before becoming Director of Marketing and Development at the University of Westminster, later moving to the British Museum in 1999 as its first Director of Marketing and Public Affairs. Her affinity for improving the lives of young people led her to the position of Commercial Director for the Prince’s Trust in 2003, and she became Chief Executive of Coram in 2007.

Formerly a member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Carol served on the Adoption Leadership Board for seven years and is a continuing member of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She was Chair of the National Autistic Society for ten years and is now Chair of Diabetes UK. Carol was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her contribution to services for children and families.

James joined CoramBAAF in January 2022. James has over 7 years’ experience working with directly with children. He has worked as children’s Guardian and Family Court Advisor at CAFCASS and as a social worker in London and Norfolk operating in a safeguarding role. Prior to becoming a social worker James has worked in public affairs for The Children’s Society and NSPCC and as a researcher in Parliament. He brings a mixture of practice, policy and influencing skills in the children’s sector to CoramBAAF.

Lydia joins from the Actors’ Children’s Trust where she was Head of Family Support, and previously led services at several charities, including the National Autistic Society, where she worked for 12 years and her passion for supporting children and families began.

Coram Family and Childcare, part of the Coram Group of children’s charities, works to make the UK a better place for families by bringing together learnings from its on-the-ground parent-led programmes and its leading research to campaign for solutions that parents want and need. The charity publishes definitive data on the issues families face, including its annual Childcare Survey which is the most widely used source of information on the costs and availability of childcare in the UK.

Lydia will lead this work to deliver Coram Family and Childcare’s goal of making sure all children can access high quality and affordable childcare.

Linda has worked in policy, research and practice improvement for two decades, specialising in issues affecting children in care and care leavers since 2008. At Coram Voice, she seeks to develop the voice of children and young people in the services that they receive. Linda leads on programmes that focus on policy and practice improvement through rigorous research, co-production and engagement with children in care and care leavers, including the Bright Spots programme, A National Voice, and peer research.

Linda previously managed Catch22’s National Care Advisory Service, leading policy and practice development for leaving care services including through the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum. Her particular expertise includes designing programmes together with children and young people, translating research into policy and practice, developing partnerships to improve services, and understanding children and young people’s perspectives.

Harriet leads on Coram Life Education and Coram Beanstalk’s vision for all children and young people to develop social and emotional skills for the future. She is responsible for Coram Life Education’s reach and impact in schools across the UK, working with trustees, central team and local delivery partners to ensure the service to schools is consistent and high-quality.

Harriet has been a leader within children and young people’s charities for 30 years – previously at Brook Young People’s charity and, since 2015, at Coram.

Stewart leads on a number of policy areas at the centre, including asylum, trafficking/modern slavery and access to education. He is co-author of Seeking Support, a guide to working with separated children and young people. He sits on a number of working groups related to children and asylum, education and care.

Stewart is a practising Scottish solicitor, qualifying in 2010, and was accredited as a level 2 supervisor under the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme in England. He previously worked at an immigration firm, and worked for over four years in law centres in Scotland. He is current chair of the Board of Trustees at the Scottish Child Law Centre, having been on the board since August 2018. He also became a trustee of We Belong in 2022.